~ An editorial by Kevin Richards

For the final assignment of the Advanced Photography Course I’ve done with DPC, we were tasked with doing an editorial shoot on a chosen topic. I chose “Wearing Masks” and decided to post the editorial in its original format for all to see.

My idea for this project actually started out as a simple portrait shoot with some masks that I would source, but it slowly evolved as I planned it out. It became a little more personal as I tried to present little pieces of myself in each idea. This then evolved further when I realized through this process, that I often present myself to people in a manner which corresponds to the situation I am in and that I vary rarely show the real me. From this I decided to twist the mask idea a little, still showing these little bits of me, but in each shot, the mask reveals more than it hides. 

Click on each of the images below to view in High Resolution: 

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Masks We Are

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Executive Clown and Rationale

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Cautious Optimist and The Fragile Protector

This was my first real attempt at using a full studio setup (in my garage) and I used up to 5 lights in some shots making it quite daunting. All the subjects are family or friends and they were not used to posing, but they were all fantastically helpful!

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Reluctant Scholar

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Perpetual Teenager

I chose a quite textured editing style for the project and tried to subtly bring in colours and textures that emphasized the themes and sub-themes of each shot. After this, I was no longer scared of Photoshop.

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Impish Introvert

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Fearful Dreamer and The Sensitive Warrior

This was quite a personal journey for me and it was actually refreshing to express myself in a way I never thought possible before I discovered photography. I really enjoyed this project and it has opened my eyes to the possibilities as well as guided me into a distinctive style of my own that I want to keep exploring and refining. Thank you once again DPC!

The Masks We Are by Kevin Richards

The Longing Parent